Carbondale (population 20,681) is located in southern Illinois in southeastern Jackson County. Illinois
Route 13 and U.S. Route 51 intersect in the center of town. Carbondale is also somewhat of a railroad hub with
four different tracks of the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad meeting in Carbondale from four different directions.
Illinois' 109th biggest city is most famous for its college, Southern Illinois University. It is from SIU
that Carbondale University High School was based.

Carbondale University High School was probably established in the early 1900s. The earliest mention
of the school is in boys basketball in 1914. The school was probably primarily built for training prospective teachers
in that program at SIU. The school lasted several decades and excelled in many different areas. The year was 1968
when Carbondale "U-High" was closed. The children of U-High then attended Carbondale High School.

Alumnus Anne Stinnett recalls the swimming pool at the school which was used during physical
education class. This was especially stressful for the girls with bouffant hair-dos of the 1960s!! She also recalls
her answer to the famous question "Where were you when you heard Kennedy was shot?". Anne had heard this from a classmate
but did not believe it until the news was read over the school's intercom system.

The original Carbondale University High School building still stands today. It is now used by Southern
Illinois University and is called Pulliam Hall.

Carbondale University High School Quick Facts

Year opened:
early 1900s

Original Use:
teachers training school

Year closed:
1968

Building today: still
in use as University building.

School nickname: the "Lynxes"

School colors:
Maroon & Gray

School Fight Song: unavailable

Carbondale U-High Pool

Pulliam Hall - SIU

Athletics

The Carbondale University High School Lynxes had IHSA success (www.ihsa.org) in boys basketball. One individual brought home medals in boys track and boys cross-country. There were also five
medals won in boys tennis. It is believed the school closed before girls sports were recognized by the IHSA.
Carbondale University High School was a member of the Black Diamond Conference.

The school REALLY excelled in Speech and Drama competition offered by the IHSA. This will be written about in length
below. The IHSA athletic success of University High School is listed below.

Boys Basketball

The U-High Lynxes had one year of IHSA success, but what a doosie! The Lynxes of 1914-15 placed 4th in
the one-class state tournament. The Lynxes beat a tough Decatur team in the quarter-final round before losing
to the eventual State Champion Freeport High School in the semi-final game. The Lynxes dropped the consolation
game to Shelbyville to finish in fourth place. With a final record of 9 - 4 this is an incredible accomplishment.
From 1915 until the school closed there is no mention of the U-High kids winning any more IHSA team hardware in
sports. The successful season in boys basketball is listed below.

Carbondale U-High Gym

Courtesy of Adam Rosoho (left click for larger view)

Carbondale U-High Gym

Courtesy of Adam Rosoho (left click for larger view)

Carbondale U-High Gym

Courtesy of Adam Rosoho (left click for larger view)

1914-15 District/Regional/Sectional Champions Coach
F.G. Warren

Quarter-final

Universlty High 22 Decatur 21

Semi-final

University High 14 Freeport 38 (Freeport eventual State Champs!)

Consolation
Game

University High 8 Shelbyville 33

1965-66 19 - 4 Conference Champions (undefeated) Coach Bill Jackson

Asst. Larry Bell

1966-67 Conference
Champions
Coach Bill Jackson

Asst.
Larry Bell

Boys Tennis

Five medals were won by three individuals listed below. Unfortunately first names of the athletes
are not available.

1914 Hessler Doubles
3rd Place

Hodge
Doubles 3rd Place

Hessler
Singles 4th Place

1915 Meiler Doubles
3rd Place

Hessler
Doubles 3rd Place

Boys Track & Field

One male athlete excelled in the old one-class system and earned a medal at the State Track Meet.

1946-47 Joseph McLafferty 1 Mile Run
2nd Place

Boys Cross Country

Joseph McLafferty pulled off a double in 1946-47 with a medal winning performance in Cross-Country
as well.

1946-47 Joseph McLafferty
6th Place

Boys Football

The Lynxes competed on the grid iron as well. We are searching for some of the team records however we
do know that the team of 1965-66 won the school's first conference championship in this sport!! The coach of
the Lynxes that year was Ed(Doc) Bencini. Some of the better seasons in Lynx' history are listed below
courtesy of Tom Sikorski:

1952 2-5 6th place Coal Belt Conference

1953 2-5 5th place Coal Belt Conference

1954 1-6 6th place Coal Belt Conference

1955 Independent

1956 Independent Coach
Doc Bencini

1957 3-2-1 Independent Coach
Doc Bencini

1958 3-1 Independent Coach
Doc Bencini

1959 Independent Coach
Doc Bencini

1960 5-1 Independent Coach
Doc Bencini

1961 4-2 Independent Coach
Doc Bencini

1962 5th Place Black Diamond Conference Coach
Doc Bencini

1963 5-2 Black Diamond Conference Co-ChampsCoach
Doc Bencini

1964 3-3 4th place Black Diamond Conference Coach
Doc Bencini

1965 5-2 Black Diamond Conference ChampsCoach
Doc Bencini

1966 4-2 2nd Place Black Diamond Conference Coach
Doc Bencini

Coach
Bill Jackson

1966 was the last year Carbondale U-High fielded a football team.

SPEECH, DRAMA, DEBATE COMPETITION

As one might guess the Carbondale University High School Lynxes excelled in Speech, Drama, and Debate competition. The
best finish for the school in this area was a State Runner-up Finish in Speech Team competition in 1963!! The team
also finished 6th in both 1962 and 1966. Unfortunately the coaches names are not available. The
individual medalists and team finishes in the respective categories are listed below.

Speech Individual Events

1950 Mary Lou Heatherly Verse
4th Place

1951 Marilyn Wakefield Comedy
3rd Place

1952 Richard Rieke
Radio 3rd Place

1953 Robert Talley Extemp
2nd Place

1954 Joyce Hastings Orat
Declam 5th Place

1955 Anne Bracewell Radio
5th Place

1962Howard BensonRadioState Champion

1963Frosti CroslinOrig
OratoryState Champion

1963 Jacob Bach Radio
3rd Place

1963 Julian McHale After
Dinner 3rd Place

1966Kenneth WhitenerSeriousState Champion

Overall Team Finishes - Speech Competition

1961-62Team Placed 6th Overall

Final Team Standings

1.) North Chicago
14

2.) Clifton Central
10

3.) Park Forest
9

4.) Galesburg 8

5.) Freeport
6

5.) Aurora West
6

6.) Carbondale
U-High 5

Five others tied with 5 points

1962-63Team Finished as State Runner-Up (2nd Place)!!

Final Team Standings

1.) Lansing T.F.
12

2.) Carbondale
U-High 11

2.) Waukegan
11

2.) Pekin 11

5.) Dolton Thornridge
9

5.) Proviso West
9

7.) Peoria Richwoods
8

7.) Rock Island
8

9.) Peoria Woodruff
7

10.) Normal U-High
6

10.) Morton West
6

1965-66Team Finished 6th Overall

Final Team Standings

1.) Pekin
10

2.) Bradley Bourb.
9

3.) Highland
Park 8

4.) Ottawa
6

4.) Peoria Woodruff 6

6.) Carbondale U-High
5

7 other teams tied with 5 points

Speech Sweepstakes Competition

1962-62School Placed 7th Overall

Final Standings

1.)
Pekin

2.) Lansing T.F.

3.) Proviso West

4.) Waukegan

5.) Proviso East

5.) Peoria Richwoods

7.) Carbonsdale
University High School

8.) Evanston

9.) Wood River - East
Alton

10.) Dolton Thornridge

Drama

Carbondale U-High also won three Sectional titles in Drama competition and qualified for the State Meet in
the following years.

1950-51 Sectional Champions State Qualifier

1959-60 Sectional Champions State Qualifier

1964-65 Sectional Champions State Qualifier

Debate

The Debate Team at Carbondale University High School added to the many titles won by the academic department of the school.
The CUHS Debate Team won four Sectional titles. The years of the titles are listed below.

1952-53 Sectional Champions

1953-54 Sectional Champions

1958-59 Sectional Champions

1961-62 Sectional Champions

MEMORIES

From Laura Wilson:

"I attended Carbondale University School. The last graduating
class was 1968. The school also excelled in music! Check out our web site at : www.uschool-alumi.org There are more pictures of the school and more information on the
site. In June we are having our every 5 year ALL SCHOOL REUNION
(all class all years-----including the orphan classes--those that went to grade school there and could not go to high school
because of the phasing out of the school). It was a wonderful place to attend school, even though you Mother or
Father may be a teacher there (some also taught at the University.). Many
of the students were "Faculty Brats". I believe we were the only school (grade & high schools) that charged
tuition to attend. I lived in Murphysboro but attended U.School from 2nd grade thru High School and then "crossed the
street" to attend college at SIUC. The school actually had a nursery, a kindergarten, & 1st grade, but my
name didn't come up on "the list" until I was in 2nd grade. Enrollment was limited to 25 in the grades and 50 in 7th
and in 8th grades (2 sections of 25). It was opened up in High School. My class was one of the largest with
about 78 in the graduating class. My experiences there were often very different than my friends from Murphysboro. At
prom, the three schools in Carbondale came together at midnight for a movie and then another dance & breakfast at one
of the high schools. Of the 3 high schools, only Carbondale Community High School is still in existence. (Carbondale Attucks and University School are closed)."

From Veronica Gold:

"The SIU Library at Carbondale has boxes of records regarding the school, including yearbooks.
The library description refers to the school as University School or University High School. All of our high school teachers were mentors/supervising teachers for undergraduate students in SIU's College of Education. We were taught often by those students doing their practicums or student
teaching. The school was started in 1917 and I graduated in a class of appx. 25 students in 1966. One of the benefits
of attending the school was early matriculation to the main campus at SIU. Many students like myself were permitted
to take college classes, much like today's AP classes in high schools. Our school was located on the SIU campus.

Thank you again for your efforts. I was pleasantly surprised to hear from you and really appreciate
the information you provided."

ALWAYS WANTING MORE

If you have any more information you can add to the Carbondale High School Lynxes' lore please drop us a line.
Photos and personal stories are welcome. There had to be some other great athletic teams in CUHS' storied
past. You can e-mail items to us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net. You can also write to us at: